Prologue - Zagreus
Zagreus knew, as a god so closely linked with death; that the baby born to Poseidon, born of the broken oath, would not survive without some help.
And he was right, the little one's heart didn't beat after the first hour.
Zagreus firmly believed that Styx could be a vile, hateful creature.
Zagreus had overlooked the reincarnation of many souls, had even been a psychopomp for some time....but Zagreus was not a cold-hearted god. He struggled immensely with holding the small, fragile souls he was in charge of, accountable for the actions of the gods. Not like Styx - she found it incredibly easy to do so.
That's why, when Zagreus found himself personally collecting the fragile little soul that had been unable to survive much beyond the birth; he knew that he would intervene. Many people didn't know that Zagreus grew fond of some of the souls he overlooked.
There was one soul in particular that Zagreus was particularly fond of. A soul that he had personally overseen brought to the Underworld. The young soul was the lover of an old friend, and while they weren't
as close as they once were, that didn't mean that Zagreus looked upon him unkindly. So when he had seen the devastation, the loss, the agony, the fury upon the death of this mortal....he'd known that he was the only one for the job of transportation. This meant he'd had to take the 'scenic route' so to speak, so he'd had time.
And that's exactly why he knew that this was the perfect opportunity!
The little one was still alone, and as the hospital that the mortal woman had chosen to give birth in was severely understaffed, underpaid and overwhelmed, unfortunately, no one had noticed the death of the little seashell.
It was the perfect opportunity.